Nay Pyi Taw, 20October 2014 – On20th October 2014, the European Union (EU) and the Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (MOECAF)of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar discussed in Nay Pyi Taw. Myanmar's engagement in the "FLEGT Action Plan" aimed at encouraging the sustainable management of the country's forests. In 2003, the EU adopted the Action Plan for Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT) which includes measures for both the EU and wood-exporting countries, to fight illegal logging and to promote trade in legally harvested timber and timber products. At the core of the EU FLEGT Action Plan are Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) with timber-producing countries that wish to eliminate illegal timber from their trade with the EU. The VPA would allow for the licensing of legally harvested timber while the VPA negotiation process provides an opportunity for stakeholders in the timber- producing country to get involved in developing national legality standards, and to reach a consensus on forest rights. Myanmar has a diverse ecology, featuring abundant natural resources. The conservation and sustainable management of forests is a challenge. Encouraging responsible stewardship and the legal trade of timber products is one of the priorities of the Government of Myanmar who requested a FLEGT VPA preparation phase in 2013. At the meeting, MOECAF reiterated the government's commitment to the FLEGT process which promotes good governance, rule of laws, and transparency. The discussion reconfirmed that the joint FLEGT VPA preparatory phase towards negotiations was now underway. To that end an inception workshop on FLEGT VPA preparation phase will be organised on 19 to 20 January 2015 in Nay Pyi Taw so that a work plan for the FLEGT VPA preparation phase could be elaborated in a participatory way. The FLEGT VPA preparatory phase will aim at ensuring that structures and understanding for a FLEGT VPA process are in place before formal VPA negotiations could start. Background Voluntary Partnership Agreements (VPAs) are a central element of the EU's strategy in the fight against illegal logging. A VPA is a bilateral trade agreement between the EU and a timber-exporting country outside the EU. A VPA aims: •to guarantee that any wood exported from a timber-producing country to the EU comes from legal sources •to help the partner country stop illegal logging by improving forest governance and regulation VPAs are voluntary for timber-exporting countries. However, once a VPA has entered into force, it is legally binding on both sides. Under the VPA, the timber-producing country develops systems to verify that its timber exports are legal, and the EU agrees to accept only licensed imports from that country. For more information: Ministry of Environmental Conservation and Forestry (MoECAF): U Pe Chit, [email protected] and U min MinOo, [email protected] European Union (EU): Mrs Delphine Brissonneau: [email protected]